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It a what may be becoming more of trend, France became the first country to ban disposable plastic cups and dishes.

The new law, which passed last month, all single-use dish-ware sold in the country must be compostable. The dish-ware must also be at least partly made of bio-sourced materials.

France’s new law requires all businesses to comply to the law by January 1st, 2020.

While environmentalists are seeing the new law as a victory, many packaging manufacturers plan to fight the new law in hopes that it doesn’t spread to other countries they sale in.

Pack2 Go Europe recently told the Associated Press:

“We are urging the European Commission to do the right thing and to take legal action against France for infringing European law,” Pack2go Europe secretary general Eamonn Bates told The Associated Press. “If they don’t, we will.”

Whether this law becomes a trend or is a just a one off fad it will definitely have an impact on the plastic and packaging industries in Europe.

France Bans Plastic Dish-ware was last modified: September 19th, 2016 by eddie

The war Drugs is still raging after almost 50 years. The half century war on drugs, seen as a failure by most, has contributed to our countries ever growing prison population. Handing down harsh sentences to low level crimes like possession have helped grow our prison population to staggering numbers.

It is also clear that justice under these laws has been dealt out un fairly amongst class and race. Rich white men don’t receive the same long sentence punishments as poor black men for the same crimes.

The film, narrated by Jay Z, features beautifully done artwork by Molly Crabapple.

Here is what the New York Times has to say about the piece the two artist created for them:

This short film, narrated by Jay Z (Shawn Carter) and featuring the artwork of Molly Crabapple, is part history lesson about the war on drugs and part vision statement. As Ms. Crabapple’s haunting images flash by, the film takes us from the Nixon administration and the Rockefeller drug laws — the draconian 1973 statutes enacted in New York that exploded the state’s prison population and ushered in a period of similar sentencing schemes for other states — through the extraordinary growth in our nation’s prison population to the emerging aboveground marijuana market of today. We learn how African-Americans can make up around 13 percent of the United States population — yet 31 percent of those arrested for drug law violations, even though they use and sell drugs at the same rate as whites.

We are quickly heading toward a future where cars drive themselves. How soon will that future come? What affect will it have on our society? Experts can’t seem to agree, but that won’t stop the future from coming.

Google is promising they will be selling fully functional self-driving cars before 2020. If your counting, that is in less than 4 years away. Some experts believe the self-driving car revolution will be similar to the introduction of Smartphones to the market. They will hit quickly and take over the market in a short period of time.

Uber, in hopes of quickly advancing self-driving cars, has recently said they will begin rolling out driverless Uber cars in Pittsburgh starting in a only a few weeks. The cars will require a back-up “driver” in case something goes wrong, at least for now. Uber Recently acquired Otto, a company who has been working on autonomous big-rig trucks.

In a statement Otto confirms their hope to “fast forward to the future” by joining up with Uber:

By joining forces with Uber we can fast forward to the future. Together, Otto and Uber can build the backbone of the rapidly-approaching self-driving freight system.

For some people, especially those whom make their living by driving, the thought of this is unsettling. In an article for the guardian, Julia Carrie Wong interviewed Uber drivers worried about their futures:

But for Ingram, autonomous Ubers are an unwelcome threat to her livelihood.

“I kind of figured it would be a couple more years down the line before it was really implemented and I’ll be retired by then,” she said.

A paralegal with 30 years experience, Ingram began driving for Uber and Lyft in June 2015 when she lost her job. She said that she loves driving for Uber, though she has struggled to make ends meet.
Rob Judge, 41, was also concerned with the announcement.

“It feels like we’re just rentals. We’re kind of like placeholders until the technology comes out.”
A longtime customer service representative, Judge began driving for Uber three months ago to make money while he looks for other work.

“For me personally, this isn’t a long term stop,” he added. “But for a lot of other people that I’ve connected with, this is their only means.”

Judge also questioned whether passengers would miss the opportunity to meet and talk with their drivers.
“It has the potential for that human interaction to go away, and that’s the best part of the whole experience,” he said.

While the boom in the smartphone industry has created many new markets and new industries, including Uber, it is still too early to really know the full impact self-driving cars will have on future markets. Will they create more jobs opportunities than they take away?

With the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimating that nearly 4,000,000 people make their living by driving motor vehicles, including taxi drivers, bus drivers, and truckers, the industry would have a lot of jobs to make up. The impact of autonomous cars could have on our society over the next decade could be devastating.

It looks like the robots are coming to destroy us and they aren’t cyborgs or human looking kills. They’re job stealing self-driving taxi’s, and trucks. They are here to take us quickly into the unknown future whether we like it or not.

For now, all we can do is embrace the change. If history is taught us anything It’s that you can’t stop progress.
For more information, read the full Guardian article here.

You a can also read this great Huffington Post piece on the impact self-driving cars might have on our economy here.

Chip and Joanna Gaines, of HGTV’s Fixer Upper, have become the very definition of celebrity Designers. Their show, based in Waco Texas, has become hugely popular for the TV and brought attention to them, their business, and town of Waco.

This attention has opened up an opportunity for some home owners to take advantage of the Magnolia name. According to the Waco Tribune as many as 6 of the ‘Fixed Up’ homes have been listed for rentals through services like Airbnb and VRBO (Vacation Rentals By Owner).

At least six other “Fixer Upper” homes could be found listed on VRBO and Airbnb earlier this month, although the owners of one were in the process of downplaying its “Fixer Upper” connection: the Gorman House (season 1, episode 2), the Mailander House (season 1, episode 12), the Shotgun House (season 3, episode 12), the Barndominium (season 3, episode 11), the Chicken House (season 3, episode 18) and the Mid-Mod House (season 2, episode 11). The Harp House (season 1, episode 11) will join that number next month. Most were listed as renting from between $250 to $350 a night.

While Magnolia, the Gaines, and HGTV don’t seem to have a problem with clients cashing in on their work, it does sound like they plan to do a better job weeding out people who may want to do so in the future.

They told the Waco Tribune:

“We have no problems with our clients’ interest in using sites like VRBO and Airbnb to rent out their homes. In fact, we get it. But we are going to be more strict with our contracts involving ‘Fixer Upper’ clients moving forward,” Magnolia spokesman Brock Murphy said in a statement.

“We want to honor our national viewing audience. We want to do remodels for clients’ homes. That’s the true intent of our show, and we want to ensure that does not get lost in this new vacation rental trend. What started off with perfectly understandable intentions could cast a shadow of a doubt on the much bigger picture, and we are going to do our best to protect that moving forward.”

The Tribune article goes on to talk about how some people were lead to rent their homes because of the unwanted attention from ‘Fixer Upper’ fans. Some of them bold enough to ask if they can come in and look around.

The story as told by the Waco Tribune:

Three years ago, Dave Morrow left a career teaching civil and environmental engineering at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California, to move to Waco, where his bride, Dr. Marla Hendricks, had a successful veterinary practice at Crossroads Animal Clinic.

They wanted a home close to Cameron Park and its mountain biking trails and found, with the Gaines’ help, the Mailander House on North Fifth Street, built in 1910. But as the couple settled in, they found they weren’t alone. Cars with rubbernecking passengers would drive slowly by. Some would stop and people would get out for selfies with the house as backdrop. A few bold ones would come to the door and ask if they could look inside.

The polite, but unbidden attention led Morrow and his wife to renovate another house in Central Waco for their use and turn their Mailander House into a vacation rental. They’ve had guests from as far as California, New Jersey and Minnesota.

The article is fascinating and gives some great insight into the downside of reality TV and its affects on unsuspecting TV remodel participants.

Adding to his Sociopathic fan club endorsement list, which already includes the KKK, Putin, Charles Manson, North Korea, and now the American Nazi Party. I wasn’t even aware there was an American Nazi Party until hearing their chair gave a radio interview discussing how a Trump win would open a lot of doors for White nationalists.

We are already seeing this taking place as former Klan leader David Duke credits Trumps rise an inspiration for his Senate run in Louisiana.

Well, look, Donald Trump can say it’s his campaign. He should say whatever he wants to say. We’ve done analysis of what’s going on here in Louisiana. We’ve already polled inside the Trump voters, and we know that we’re going to carry 75 to 80 percent of those who are going to vote for Trump.

Similarly, on a radio show friendly to his message the American Nazi Party chairman stated his thoughts on how a Trump victory would be a great opportunity for White Nationalists to strengthen and pro-white coalitions.

Here is the chairman’s quote from a Buzz Feed story written by Andrew Kaczynski:

“I’m gonna project that I believe that Trump is going to win the election this November, for various reasons which I don’t want to go into again,” Suhayda said on his radio program’s July broadcast. “I think it’s gonna surprise the enemy, because, I think that they feel that the white working class, especially the male portion of the working class, and with him his female counterparts have basically thrown in the towel — given up hope of any politician again standing up for their interests.”

“Now, if Trump does win, okay, it’s going to be a real opportunity for people like white nationalists, acting intelligently to build upon that, and to go and start — you know how you have the black political caucus and whatnot in Congress, and, everything, to start building on something like that, okay,” continued Suhayda. “It doesn’t have to be anti, like the movement’s been for decades, so much as it has to be pro-white. It’s kinda hard to go and call us bigots if we don’t go around and act like a bigot. That’s what the movement should contemplate. All right.”

“We have a wonderful OPPORTUNITY here folks, that may never come again, at the RIGHT time,” he stated. “Donald Trump’s campaign statements, if nothing else, have SHOWN that ‘our views’ are NOT so ‘unpopular’ as the Political Correctness crowd have told everyone they are!”

You can read the full Buzz Feed article with the audio clip from the radio broadcast here.

It looks like Trump maybe looking to break a glass ceiling of his own. One that empowers white nationalists and other extremist groups around the globe.

Trump Win Could Be A Real Opportunity For White Nationalists was last modified: August 8th, 2016 by eddie

Apple released its much anticipated Apple TV app Today to rave reviews.

The one major problem the app solves for Apple TV owners is the search function. With the physical remote you are reduced to using a combination of swiping and clicking through a straight line of letters numbers and characters or by dictating your search term to Siri. With the new remote app you can simply use your touchscreen keyboard to type in search terms like you would on your phone.

The app’s interface is features a black design, which is completely different than the lighter tones of the earlier version of the app.

When opened the app connects seamlessly to your Apple TV, if is it is Second generation or newer. Once connected you asked to select your device, giving you all the abilities of the physical remote. You can pause and play content, navigate through menus, and ask Siri for help with movies, TV, music, and anything else your heart desires. You can even toggle to game mode and gain full access to touch-based gaming.

The Free app is definitely and advancement on the previous remote app and is a better searching tool than the physical Apple TV remote. If you use your Apple TV as much as we do then we definitely recommend downloading the free Apple TV remote app. You will be glad you did.

Why You Should Download The Apple TV App Now was last modified: August 2nd, 2016 by eddie

The Philadelphia City Council has approved a tax on sweet drinks. This makes it the first major city in the US to pass a “Soda Tax”. They were able to accomplish this despite a multi-million dollar campaign from the beverage industry to oppose the bill.

The bill includes a 1.5 cent per once tax that affects both sugar based drinks and artificially sweet drinks, like diet sodas.

Where other cities like, New York and San Francisco, have failed at passing a soda tax by focusing on health benefits. Philadelphia was able to accomplish their goal by focusing on raising revenue for popular school and social programs for the city.

The measure is projected to raise $91 million in the first year.

As for the health benefits, studies predict the tax could prevent 95,000 coronary heart events, 8,000 strokes, 26,000 premature deaths. This study obviously assumes that people will replace sugar based drinks with healthy options like water.

The measure seems like a win/win for the city of Philadelphia, and good be a sign of things to come for the beverage industry.

Philadelphia Passes Sweet Drink Tax was last modified: June 20th, 2016 by eddie

If you’re wondering why you can see better on the Golden Gate Bridge, a distillery in San Francisco has begun capturing fog and turning it into vodka. Hangar 1 developed Fog Point vodka in a stride to support sustainability and local production. The team uses innovative fog-catching mesh to capture water droplets and has already produced at least 2000 bottles of vodka.

Prices for Fog Point currently run at $125 a bottle. Reviewers have commented that the vodka has floral notes similar to an Asian pear. This may be the most exciting sustainable product released this year. At the least, Fog Point is a novelty product that would allow people from all over the world to get a taste of San Francisco fog. Now if New York could make vodka from its smog, then we’d be in business.

With Instagram overhauling its logo and user interface last week, it seems Twitter has to compete to stay relevant. Twitter will soon stop counting photos and links as characters in their well-known 140 character limit. Every time a Twitter user inserts a link into their post, the URL is automatically shortened to 23 characters. With the new change, users will be able to get a few more words in (23 characters worth); however, ‘supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’ (34 characters-count them) won’t be one of them. The change is expected to be rolled out in about two weeks.

In early January, Twitter considered expanding their character limit to 10,000 characters. However, Twitter was never intended to be a blog. The platform is mainly used to Tweet live events, show support for certain artists/campaigns and spread breaking news quickly.

Some say the new character limit will allow for easier discussion on Twitter, whereby users will not have to adjust/shorten their Tweets to fit within the parameters as often. As far as social media networks go, Twitter for the most part has been synonymous with the hashtag. If Twitter really wants to turn heads, they should stop counting hashtags as characters. Let’s first see how 23 additional characters change the Twittersphere.

This summer, Budweiser is rebranding its beer labels to say “America”. The rebranding is just in time for the Olympics as well as the upcoming election. Budweiser tweeted their new campaign on May 10th: “Here’s to America the beautiful. Hold her high this summer. #ThisBudsForYou”. The newly labeled beer will first be available on May 23rd and last till Election Day in November.

This announcement comes just three weeks shy of Memorial Day, when tons of Americans will be having beer at their barbecues. If you ask us, it’s a brilliant marketing campaign asking to be parodied by anyone and everyone. Some common questions we may soon hear include: “Do you have to be 21 to drink ‘America’ in America? How many calories are in ‘America’? If ‘America’ is Land of the Free, do I have to pay for that?”

We know a thing or two about marketing, and we can predict other countries are going to rebrand their beer to their country name to remain competitive. Will Budweiser’s move start a war on beer patriotism? We’ll have to wait and see.

To see Budwisers new “Ameri-can” check out the video below or head over at Fast Company.